Best Places In The World To Retire

The Algarve is very safe.

 

I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is probably one of the world’s most dangerous places. I lived in San Pablo in Brazil, which is amongst the crime capitals of the world. I used to do a lot of business in Bogota when the drug cartels were more prevalent, where I used to have a personal code with my driver so that I wasn’t hijacked. I still remember when I lived in Miami that there were places in downtown...

The Algarve is very safe.

 

I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is probably one of the world’s most dangerous places. I lived in San Pablo in Brazil, which is amongst the crime capitals of the world. I used to do a lot of business in Bogota when the drug cartels were more prevalent, where I used to have a personal code with my driver so that I wasn’t hijacked. I still remember when I lived in Miami that there were places in downtown Miami that you couldn’t walk at night.

 

Compared to those places, it’s a complete and utter difference in the Algarve. I believe Portugal is the seventh safest country in the world. The Algarve is known as a place for people who do not wish to be necessarily in the limelight and who would rather be away from the media. Many famous people who could choose any location choose the Algarve because you don’t have the paparazzi running around.

 

If you walk around the Algarve, you will see the average middle class people who live here, among whom, the crime rate is very low. Historically there has been very, very little violent crime in the Algarve, which continues to be the case. There is no racial or social unrest. Portugal is generally a very homogenous country from a racial, a religious, and other perspectives. Most people are of the Roman Catholic faith. And even people who are not necessarily religious are very, very neutral and not in any way outspoken about their beliefs. What one finds in Portugal is a country that is very tolerant, which contributes in no small measure to the fact that not only is the country safe, but people feel safe. The comment that we often receive from people who are down here is, “I really feel safe. I can walk at night to a restaurant or into town and I don’t feel as though I’m being threatened in any way.” This is very important.

 

We had a single female client from the US living in London who was staying in one of our locations near Portimao in the Algarve and wanted to go to either a jazz concert or ballet that playing in a very large venue that was located in a bit of an industrial area on the edge of the river. She walked from the place where she was staying across a fairly deserted village to the performance, and then walked back. Later, I dropped her an email to ask her how it went.  She wrote back, “Absolutely fantastic!  If I had been in London I would have had to take a cab to stay overnight in a hotel and caught a cab to see the show, pay a fortune for the show, come back and have gone back home to my house. Instead, in the Algarve, I saw a top performance, and walked back. I felt completely safe and it cost me probably a tenth of what it would cost in London or New York.” I believe it’s important to live in a place that feels safe as opposed to just citing statistics that say it’s safe.  The important thing for most people is to feel safe.

 

In general, people don’t have burglar bars or big dogs for security in the Algarve.  Some of the traditional properties that are out in the countryside need some protection because they closed for months and so to just avoid anyone having the temptation to break in, sometimes people will put worked, ornate iron bars on the windows and the doors.  However, in the city and in the suburbs, it’s not that common to see burglar bars. On the contrary, it’s much more common to see big wide sliding doors to make the most of the views and the sunshine.

 

(In 2009 actress Angelina Jolie had been looking for property in the Algarve, Portugal, pictured.)

It’s a wonderful experience to raise our children here in Panama. I don’t ever feel, because I’m a homeschooling father, that the government is going to show up, knock at my door and put my children in foster care because we choose to homeschool our own children. 

 

That was an ongoing concern for us in Kentucky, but it doesn’t exist here in Panama at all. Here in Panama, I’m free to raise my children however I want to....

It’s a wonderful experience to raise our children here in Panama. I don’t ever feel, because I’m a homeschooling father, that the government is going to show up, knock at my door and put my children in foster care because we choose to homeschool our own children. 

 

That was an ongoing concern for us in Kentucky, but it doesn’t exist here in Panama at all. Here in Panama, I’m free to raise my children however I want to. I’m in an area in Panama where we feel completely safe. My children enjoy a broad friend set of Panamanian, Hispanic, American, Costa Rican, Canadian, Spanish, and Mexican friends. Their eyes have been a lot more open to what the world is like and how small our world truly has become than if we had continued to raise them in Kentucky.  

 

(The Gilbert family in Volcan, Panama, pictured.)

Everyone is treated equally here in Corozal, Belize, where I live. There is no discrimination, which is one of the things I like about the country of Belize in general.

 

There are women in business and there are women in power here such town councils, or board of directors. It is a very active community. I do not find it difficult being a woman here in Belize. I have businesses on the side with my husband and people treat me very well here.

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Everyone is treated equally here in Corozal, Belize, where I live. There is no discrimination, which is one of the things I like about the country of Belize in general.

 

There are women in business and there are women in power here such town councils, or board of directors. It is a very active community. I do not find it difficult being a woman here in Belize. I have businesses on the side with my husband and people treat me very well here.

 

(Belize Tourism Industry Association, Corozal Chapter, Belize, pictured.)  

One of the names for the city of Granada, Nicaragua is “The City of Doors.” That is because the doors here are unique. They are very large, wooden, old doors that existed way back when the city was founded in the year 1523.

 

Another reason why it is the city of doors is because when you open a door to a home, you may see a beautifully restored home or you may see a common middle class home.

 

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One of the names for the city of Granada, Nicaragua is “The City of Doors.” That is because the doors here are unique. They are very large, wooden, old doors that existed way back when the city was founded in the year 1523.

 

Another reason why it is the city of doors is because when you open a door to a home, you may see a beautifully restored home or you may see a common middle class home.

 

There is not much "grouping" of people here in Granada. There might be one street where there are more gringos living than in other places, but that is not generally the case. As an example, where I live, the house next to us is 600 square feet and has a Nicaraguan family of 11 living in it. On the other side is a a house occupied by a more well to do Nicaraguan who does graphic arts, and across the street from our house is a small hotel. So your neighbors here in Granada could be anybody. There are no homogenous neighborhoods here.